JSA: Land Of The Thuggee
By Bruce Wayne
Justice Society of America created by Gardner Fox
Dedicated to ME, who has taught me more about being philosophical than anyone.
DISCLAIMER: Most of the characters portrayed in this story are copyright by DC Comics, an AOL/Time/Warner company. They are used without permission for entertainment without profit by the author.
Chapter 13
High priest Shastri addressed almost a hundred Thuggees who had gathered at the base of the mountain of Kali. He was leading the faithful in a series of chants when a distant gong rang twice. Shastri told the congregation Kali had summoned him into the cave for holy guidance.
"The American super-heroes are approaching on foot," Vandal Savage told Shastri when he met the Indian in the tunnel. "They are less than half a mile away."
"What is this?" Shastri glared at him. "How did they get past your fancy security system? Why didn't you take care of them before they got this close?"
"They were traveling with Bahir Khan, disguised as members of his bandit gang," Savage explained. "I sent Captain Tito and an escort of security men to find out what the bandits wanted. The Americans overpowered them."
"I heard no shots," Shastri said. "The sound would certainly carry within the rock walls of the valley."
"The security men never had a chance to fire a shot. The Americans overpowered them so quickly," the criminal mastermind answered. "I saw the whole incident on a monitor."
"So get some more men and go kill them," Shastri told him. "I thought you were ruthless."
"I'm not sure if our security personnel can handle the Americans," Savage said.
"But you're supposed to handle this sort of thing," Shastri insisted.
"If my security force engages in a fight with the Americans this close to the mountain of Kali, the Thuggees will hear it," Savage explained. "If they find European security men in the area, they will demand to know why. Even those brainwashed fanatics would suspect that we were stationed nearby. That would directly connect Europeans with your cult."
"So what do you want me to do?" Shastri asked.
"Tell your followers Kali has informed you that infidels are coming to attack them," Savage replied. "Tell them the goddess wants these nonbelievers destroyed."
"You want my people to be cannon fodder," Shastri complained. "The Thuggees are trained as stranglers. They aren't gunmen ..."
"Even without firearms the Thugs could probably win against the Americans by sheer numbers," the criminal leader replied. "But it may not be necessary for all your followers to lay down their lives."
"But you don't want to risk the lives of any of your security men," Shastri sneered. "And you won't be outside when the Americans attack."
"No," Savage said with a smile. "But the goddess Kali will out there."
^J^ ^S^ ^A^
The members of the Justice Society and Rod Lawson approached the mountain of Kali. They were certain they had found their goal because they saw two figures at the mouth of a cave near the peak. One was a small Indian dressed in a yellow robe. The other was an incredible shape, seven feet tall with eight arms and a fierce bronze face.
"Holy cow," Rod Lawson whispered as he gazed through a pair of field glasses at the goddess standing beside Shastri. "You guys told me what to expect, but I can hardly believe I'm really seeing this."
"I understand what you are saying," Wonder Woman said, watching the arms of Kali move in unison. "That thing looks like something right out of a nightmare."
"This is a nightmare," Starman remarked grimly. "Now all we have to do is figure out how to end it."
"I hate to point this out," Hourman commented as he swallowed a Miraclo pill, "but it looks like the Thuggees are out in force."
"There must be armed security men around, too," the Atom added. "But they're not gonna come out of the woodwork unless they have to."
"Or out of the mountain of Kali," Hawkman remarked. "We may have to flush them out."
Starman said with a shrug, "Guess we'll just have to get closer."
"Right," Hawkman agreed. "Try to use the surrounding rocks as camouflage. We can't afford to handle the Thuggees with kid gloves, but we don't want to injure them if we don't have to, either. After all, they're just pawns of our real enemy. Religious extremists who have fallen victim to a clever con game."
"Those so-called victims are killers," Hourman muttered. "I damn near got throttled by three of them back in Bombay, and I don't intend to let one of them get a scarf around my neck again."
"Who knows," Atom said with a grin in his voice, "might be the start of a new fashion craze."
The crimefighters moved forward, stealthily darting from boulder to boulder. However, Shastri had alerted the Thuggees to watch for invaders. Too many eyes covered too great an area for the JSA to advance unnoticed. Several Thuggees pointed at the heroes and shouted warning to the others.
"That tears it," Hawkman muttered as the Thuggees charged like a human tidal wave.
The Winged Wonder took off into the air and Hourman charged forward like a football lineman. A dozen followers of Kali screamed and fell to the ground after beiing hit by the Man of the Hour. But dozens more kept coming.
Wonder Woman did not hesitate. The Amazon princess moved quickly and started swinging her fists that smashed into the attackers. More Thugs dropped shrieking to the dust. Two fanatics closed in, silk cords in their fists. Wonder Woman promptly hit both men in the chest.
Rod Lawson did not show any consideration for the fact that the Thugs did not carry guns. He sprayed the charging horde with machine gun fire, pumping bullets into the attackers' torsos. The CIA man was too terrified by the maniacal assault even to consider shooting to wound his opponents. Lawson's sole concern was personal survival.
Starman used his Cosmic Rod with uncanny precision. He fired off bursts of energy that smashed through the Thuggees. The man of the night seemed almost casual as he picked off Kali fanatics, but his heart was racing with fear and excitement. The crazies charged on, running over the bodies of their fallen comrades.
Three Thugs drew close too Starman. He raised his weapon and blasted one opponent. Another zealot lunged for the crimefighter's neck with a twisted scarf. Starman quickly jabbed the Cosmic Rod into the cloth garrote to block the attack. The Justice Society warrior swiftly slammed a fist into the man's face, breaking his jaw.
The third Thuggee raised his scarf. Starman pivoted to face his attacker, but the would-be strangler vanished. The red-clad hero staggered back in astonishment. The Thuggee had not leaped away or ducked out of view. He had literally disappeared in a flash of blue-white light. Only a charred patch of ground remained where the man had stood.
"Great Scott!" Starman exclaimed.
"No," the Atom rasped. "It's Kali!"
The statue of Kali moved slowly, its necklace of skulls glowing like a monstrous firefly. Shastri stood clear of the eight-armed figure as he shouted down at the Thuggees.
"Stay back, my children!" the false prophet cried. "The mother goddess herself shall deal with these infidels!"
The Thuggees began to move away from the JSA heroes, and a bolt of fiery light flashed from Kali's necklace. The laser beam struck a boulder behind Hourman, and the rock dissolved instantly. The Man of the Hour leaped away from the scorched earth where solid stone had been.
"Spread out!" Hawkman shouted from above. "Don't make it easy for them to zero in on a target!"
The Thuggees no longer presented a threat. The zealots turned their backs to the super-heroes, confident that their goddess would destroy the invaders. They gazed up at Kali and chanted to their deity as the skulls around the statue's neck began to glow once more.
The JSA members scrambled in different directions. Kali revolved slowly like the guns on a tank. The arms moved like a killer octopus waving its weapons in triumph. It extended the severed head in one fist as if using the ghastly ornament to help seek its quarry.
Enough of this nonsense, Wonder Woman thought as she raced toward the mechanical monster at the mouth of the cave. The Amazing Amazon struck the robot with a solid fist and it exploded. The blow sent Kali tumbling over the edge.
Shastri screamed as metal parts from the damaged mechanical goddess rained on him. The high priest slid down the mountain and fell against a lip of a stone. His thigh bone snapped, and a bone splinter ripped open flesh as Shastri howled in agony.
The figure of Kali plunged to the ground below, and the Thuggees wailed in horror and astonishment as they watched their goddess crash to earth. Metal arms burst from welded sockets. Circuits sparked and wires jutted from the broken statue. An arm jerked up and down woodenly, almost like the twitching motion of a dying creature.
"Lawson!" Hawkman exclaimed. "Tell the Thuggees to look at Kali. See for themselves how they've been duped by liars who have used their faith for evil."
"I think they're figuring that out for themselves," Hourman remarked.
The Thuggees stared at the shattered remnants of Kali. None of them had ever seen a dead god before, but they realized the wires and tubes were part of something man-made. The stunned congregation gazed down at the thing they worshipped. In the flickering of an instant, their dreams, future and faith had been crushed.
Then a new expression appeared on their faces. Their eyes burned with the hatred of betrayal. An angry. primitive cry burst from the throats of the followers of Kali as they rushed toward the mountain as if determined to tear it down with their bare hands.
The metallic rattle of a mounted machine gun suddenly erupted from the mouth of the cave. High-velocity bullets slashed into the charging Indians. At least ten collapsed, blood streaming from their bullet-riddled bodies.
"I think we found Vandal Savage's security men," the Atom commented.
Starman adjusted a knob on his Cosmic Rod.
The man of the night's arm whipped forward and fired off a blast from his weapon. The energy blast went straight into the mouth of the cave and exploded directly above the machine gunners. Three injured security men erupted from the gap, along with a twisted chunk of metal that had formerly been a weapon.
The Justice Society charged to the mountain of Kali. The Thuggees stayed back, frightened of the strangers who had arrived with fearsome might and the mysterious demons that lurked inside the cave. They were disoriented and confused.
The Atom and Hourman were the first to reach the mountain. Both heroes were experienced climbers and they quickly scaled the rock walls, easily finding hand- and footholds. Starman and Wonder Woman flew to the top. Atom and Hourman reached the stone ledge where Shastri lay. The cult leader's smashed leg was covered with blood. He gazed up at the pair with helpless pleading in his tear-soaked eyes.
"Help me," Shastri begged. "Please ..."
Atom and Hourman ignored him and continued to climb higher. They heard voices shouting in a foreign language and boot leather scraping stone above them. Hourman braced himself against the rocks and extended an arm to the Atom.
From the air, Starman fired a blast from his Cosmic Rod at some security men who were looking to aim their guns at the Atom and Hourman. The blast made the mountain tremble. Screams echoed from inside the cave at the top as Hourman and Atom scrambled over the ledge.
Only one security man was still on his feet and both the Atom and Hourman grabbed the opponent and threw him through the mouth of the cave roughly. The other members of Vandal Savage's security detail were sprawled on the floor of the cave, rendered senseless by the terrible force of Starman's weapon.
The Atom and Hourman waited for Starman and Wonder Woman to join them on the ledge before they advanced inside the cave to investigate the tunnel within. The control room was deserted except for the unconscious Sergeant Kurtz, who lay on the floor by the radar screen.
"You think we got them all?" Starman inquired softly.
"I don't know," the Atom replied. "If I built a setup like this I'd include a back door."
"Where is Hawkman?" Wonder Woman asked.
"Probably on the other side of the mountain," Hourman guessed. "Looking for the back door."
^J^ ^S^ ^A^
Vandal Savage and Lieutenant Kraven, the next highest officer of the security force, had escaped through the emergency tunnel while the rest of the security men fought the JSA. When the mechanical Kali had been destroyed, Savage realized the battle was lost.
When they emerged from the opposite side of the mountain, Savage tossed a hand grenade into the tunnel. The explosion dumped enough rock into the passage to at least slow down any pursuit by the American heroes.
"What do we do now, sir?" Kraven inquired.
"Raise your hands and surrender," Hawkman instructed as he stepped from behind a boulder.
Savage did what the crimefighter ordered. Kraven turned his back to Hawkman. The young security man quickly yanked a pistol from shoulder leather and whirled hoping to catch the Justice Society chairman off guard.
Hawkman was already in the air before the lieutenant had turned around and nailed Kraven in the chin with a fist before he could fire another shot. Savage swiftly planted a boot in his bodyguard's backside before the unconscious man could fall. He kicked Kraven's body toward Hawkman and leaped at the hero who had landed.
Hawkman shifted his body to avoid the grasp of Vandal Savage. The criminal mastermind managed to get a hold of the Winged Wonder and yanked hard and snapped his head forward, butting Hawkman in the forehead.
The crimefighter's skull rang from the stunning blow. Savage grabbed Hawkman's fingers and tried to bend them back. Hawkman thrust a fast side kick to the criminal's kneecap. The joint cracked and Savage bellowed with pain.
The JSA chairman lashed out with a punch to Savage's left forearm. Then Hawkman chopped his hand across the archvillain's right wrist. The crime boss suddenly rammed a powerful shoulder to Hawkman's chest and whipped a backfist across the hero's jawbone.
Hawkman staggered back three steps. Vandal Savage ground his teeth together as he painfully stood on the leg with a dislocated knee in order to launch a boot for Hawkman's groin. The Winged Wonder blocked the kick with his left thigh, but the villain's foot slammed into the knife wound in Hawkman's upper leg. The crimefighter groaned as fresh blood oozed from the bandaged limb.
Vandal Savage dived forward, both hands aimed for Hawkman's throat. The JSA hero caught his opponent's arm, grabbing a sleeve with his left hand and digging his fingers into biceps muscle. Hawkman rose into the air. He jammed a knee in the criminal's midsection and let go of Savage from twenty feet up.
The archvillain hit the ground hard. Although winded and battered, Savage tried to rise. Hawkman landed on the ground. The criminal reached for a rock or a fistful of dirt to throw in Hawkman's face. His fingers touched metal.
Savage smiled when he glanced down at Kraven's dropped pistol. He scooped it up and swung the gun toward the hero. His smile vanished when he saw Hawkman wasn't where he expected him to be.
As the master villain started to look up, Hawkman punched him between the eyes.
Vandal Savage was knocked unconscious by the hard blow. Hawkman picked up his longtime opponent and rose into the air to return to the other side of the mountain.
^J^ ^S^ ^A^
The battle was over. The Justice Society of America claimed a handful of prisoners but decided to let the Thuggees go. They were no longer Thuggees or believers in the goddess Kali. Hawkman wondered what it was like to actually see one's god destroyed before one's very eyes. What can one believe in after such an experience? Indeed, could one ever dare to believe in anything again?
"Vandal Savage had a hell of a radio set up inside that cave," Starman told Hawkman. "I managed to contact a CIA frequency Lawson told me about. They'll arrange a couple of helicopters to take the prisoners back to Calcutta where the Indian CID will take Vandal Savage's security force off our hands."
"Did you remember to mention medical supplies?" Wonder Woman asked. "Some of these people are hurt pretty bad."
"They're going to send a medical unit," Starman answered. "At least we'll have some help cleaning up this mess."
"Then this case is over at last," Hawkman said. "By the way, what happened to Shastri, the phony prophet who was working for Vandal Savage?"
"He's over there," Hourman answered, pointing to the base of the mountain. "The Thugs -- or should I say former Thugs -- yanked Shastri off the mountain and took out some of their frustrations on him. We couldn't stop them in time."
Hawkman gazed down at the battered figure of Shastri. The former leader of the Cult of Kali lay motionless on the ground. His wrists were bound together at the small of his back by a knotted silk scarf. Another yellow cord bound his ankles together. A third Thuggee garrote was tightly bound around his neck. Shastri's face was almost purple and his tongue hung from his open mouth. The dead man's eyes stared up at the blazing sun without blinking.
"A bit of ironic justice," the Atom remarked.
"Yes," Hawkman agreed wearily. "High priest Shastri is the last sacrifice of the Thuggees."
-- Finis --
Next Bruce Wayne story: Batman takes on the Bookworm in "Manuscripts Of Death." Please look for it in the Batman section of FFN.
By Bruce Wayne
Justice Society of America created by Gardner Fox
Dedicated to ME, who has taught me more about being philosophical than anyone.
DISCLAIMER: Most of the characters portrayed in this story are copyright by DC Comics, an AOL/Time/Warner company. They are used without permission for entertainment without profit by the author.
Chapter 13
High priest Shastri addressed almost a hundred Thuggees who had gathered at the base of the mountain of Kali. He was leading the faithful in a series of chants when a distant gong rang twice. Shastri told the congregation Kali had summoned him into the cave for holy guidance.
"The American super-heroes are approaching on foot," Vandal Savage told Shastri when he met the Indian in the tunnel. "They are less than half a mile away."
"What is this?" Shastri glared at him. "How did they get past your fancy security system? Why didn't you take care of them before they got this close?"
"They were traveling with Bahir Khan, disguised as members of his bandit gang," Savage explained. "I sent Captain Tito and an escort of security men to find out what the bandits wanted. The Americans overpowered them."
"I heard no shots," Shastri said. "The sound would certainly carry within the rock walls of the valley."
"The security men never had a chance to fire a shot. The Americans overpowered them so quickly," the criminal mastermind answered. "I saw the whole incident on a monitor."
"So get some more men and go kill them," Shastri told him. "I thought you were ruthless."
"I'm not sure if our security personnel can handle the Americans," Savage said.
"But you're supposed to handle this sort of thing," Shastri insisted.
"If my security force engages in a fight with the Americans this close to the mountain of Kali, the Thuggees will hear it," Savage explained. "If they find European security men in the area, they will demand to know why. Even those brainwashed fanatics would suspect that we were stationed nearby. That would directly connect Europeans with your cult."
"So what do you want me to do?" Shastri asked.
"Tell your followers Kali has informed you that infidels are coming to attack them," Savage replied. "Tell them the goddess wants these nonbelievers destroyed."
"You want my people to be cannon fodder," Shastri complained. "The Thuggees are trained as stranglers. They aren't gunmen ..."
"Even without firearms the Thugs could probably win against the Americans by sheer numbers," the criminal leader replied. "But it may not be necessary for all your followers to lay down their lives."
"But you don't want to risk the lives of any of your security men," Shastri sneered. "And you won't be outside when the Americans attack."
"No," Savage said with a smile. "But the goddess Kali will out there."
^J^ ^S^ ^A^
The members of the Justice Society and Rod Lawson approached the mountain of Kali. They were certain they had found their goal because they saw two figures at the mouth of a cave near the peak. One was a small Indian dressed in a yellow robe. The other was an incredible shape, seven feet tall with eight arms and a fierce bronze face.
"Holy cow," Rod Lawson whispered as he gazed through a pair of field glasses at the goddess standing beside Shastri. "You guys told me what to expect, but I can hardly believe I'm really seeing this."
"I understand what you are saying," Wonder Woman said, watching the arms of Kali move in unison. "That thing looks like something right out of a nightmare."
"This is a nightmare," Starman remarked grimly. "Now all we have to do is figure out how to end it."
"I hate to point this out," Hourman commented as he swallowed a Miraclo pill, "but it looks like the Thuggees are out in force."
"There must be armed security men around, too," the Atom added. "But they're not gonna come out of the woodwork unless they have to."
"Or out of the mountain of Kali," Hawkman remarked. "We may have to flush them out."
Starman said with a shrug, "Guess we'll just have to get closer."
"Right," Hawkman agreed. "Try to use the surrounding rocks as camouflage. We can't afford to handle the Thuggees with kid gloves, but we don't want to injure them if we don't have to, either. After all, they're just pawns of our real enemy. Religious extremists who have fallen victim to a clever con game."
"Those so-called victims are killers," Hourman muttered. "I damn near got throttled by three of them back in Bombay, and I don't intend to let one of them get a scarf around my neck again."
"Who knows," Atom said with a grin in his voice, "might be the start of a new fashion craze."
The crimefighters moved forward, stealthily darting from boulder to boulder. However, Shastri had alerted the Thuggees to watch for invaders. Too many eyes covered too great an area for the JSA to advance unnoticed. Several Thuggees pointed at the heroes and shouted warning to the others.
"That tears it," Hawkman muttered as the Thuggees charged like a human tidal wave.
The Winged Wonder took off into the air and Hourman charged forward like a football lineman. A dozen followers of Kali screamed and fell to the ground after beiing hit by the Man of the Hour. But dozens more kept coming.
Wonder Woman did not hesitate. The Amazon princess moved quickly and started swinging her fists that smashed into the attackers. More Thugs dropped shrieking to the dust. Two fanatics closed in, silk cords in their fists. Wonder Woman promptly hit both men in the chest.
Rod Lawson did not show any consideration for the fact that the Thugs did not carry guns. He sprayed the charging horde with machine gun fire, pumping bullets into the attackers' torsos. The CIA man was too terrified by the maniacal assault even to consider shooting to wound his opponents. Lawson's sole concern was personal survival.
Starman used his Cosmic Rod with uncanny precision. He fired off bursts of energy that smashed through the Thuggees. The man of the night seemed almost casual as he picked off Kali fanatics, but his heart was racing with fear and excitement. The crazies charged on, running over the bodies of their fallen comrades.
Three Thugs drew close too Starman. He raised his weapon and blasted one opponent. Another zealot lunged for the crimefighter's neck with a twisted scarf. Starman quickly jabbed the Cosmic Rod into the cloth garrote to block the attack. The Justice Society warrior swiftly slammed a fist into the man's face, breaking his jaw.
The third Thuggee raised his scarf. Starman pivoted to face his attacker, but the would-be strangler vanished. The red-clad hero staggered back in astonishment. The Thuggee had not leaped away or ducked out of view. He had literally disappeared in a flash of blue-white light. Only a charred patch of ground remained where the man had stood.
"Great Scott!" Starman exclaimed.
"No," the Atom rasped. "It's Kali!"
The statue of Kali moved slowly, its necklace of skulls glowing like a monstrous firefly. Shastri stood clear of the eight-armed figure as he shouted down at the Thuggees.
"Stay back, my children!" the false prophet cried. "The mother goddess herself shall deal with these infidels!"
The Thuggees began to move away from the JSA heroes, and a bolt of fiery light flashed from Kali's necklace. The laser beam struck a boulder behind Hourman, and the rock dissolved instantly. The Man of the Hour leaped away from the scorched earth where solid stone had been.
"Spread out!" Hawkman shouted from above. "Don't make it easy for them to zero in on a target!"
The Thuggees no longer presented a threat. The zealots turned their backs to the super-heroes, confident that their goddess would destroy the invaders. They gazed up at Kali and chanted to their deity as the skulls around the statue's neck began to glow once more.
The JSA members scrambled in different directions. Kali revolved slowly like the guns on a tank. The arms moved like a killer octopus waving its weapons in triumph. It extended the severed head in one fist as if using the ghastly ornament to help seek its quarry.
Enough of this nonsense, Wonder Woman thought as she raced toward the mechanical monster at the mouth of the cave. The Amazing Amazon struck the robot with a solid fist and it exploded. The blow sent Kali tumbling over the edge.
Shastri screamed as metal parts from the damaged mechanical goddess rained on him. The high priest slid down the mountain and fell against a lip of a stone. His thigh bone snapped, and a bone splinter ripped open flesh as Shastri howled in agony.
The figure of Kali plunged to the ground below, and the Thuggees wailed in horror and astonishment as they watched their goddess crash to earth. Metal arms burst from welded sockets. Circuits sparked and wires jutted from the broken statue. An arm jerked up and down woodenly, almost like the twitching motion of a dying creature.
"Lawson!" Hawkman exclaimed. "Tell the Thuggees to look at Kali. See for themselves how they've been duped by liars who have used their faith for evil."
"I think they're figuring that out for themselves," Hourman remarked.
The Thuggees stared at the shattered remnants of Kali. None of them had ever seen a dead god before, but they realized the wires and tubes were part of something man-made. The stunned congregation gazed down at the thing they worshipped. In the flickering of an instant, their dreams, future and faith had been crushed.
Then a new expression appeared on their faces. Their eyes burned with the hatred of betrayal. An angry. primitive cry burst from the throats of the followers of Kali as they rushed toward the mountain as if determined to tear it down with their bare hands.
The metallic rattle of a mounted machine gun suddenly erupted from the mouth of the cave. High-velocity bullets slashed into the charging Indians. At least ten collapsed, blood streaming from their bullet-riddled bodies.
"I think we found Vandal Savage's security men," the Atom commented.
Starman adjusted a knob on his Cosmic Rod.
The man of the night's arm whipped forward and fired off a blast from his weapon. The energy blast went straight into the mouth of the cave and exploded directly above the machine gunners. Three injured security men erupted from the gap, along with a twisted chunk of metal that had formerly been a weapon.
The Justice Society charged to the mountain of Kali. The Thuggees stayed back, frightened of the strangers who had arrived with fearsome might and the mysterious demons that lurked inside the cave. They were disoriented and confused.
The Atom and Hourman were the first to reach the mountain. Both heroes were experienced climbers and they quickly scaled the rock walls, easily finding hand- and footholds. Starman and Wonder Woman flew to the top. Atom and Hourman reached the stone ledge where Shastri lay. The cult leader's smashed leg was covered with blood. He gazed up at the pair with helpless pleading in his tear-soaked eyes.
"Help me," Shastri begged. "Please ..."
Atom and Hourman ignored him and continued to climb higher. They heard voices shouting in a foreign language and boot leather scraping stone above them. Hourman braced himself against the rocks and extended an arm to the Atom.
From the air, Starman fired a blast from his Cosmic Rod at some security men who were looking to aim their guns at the Atom and Hourman. The blast made the mountain tremble. Screams echoed from inside the cave at the top as Hourman and Atom scrambled over the ledge.
Only one security man was still on his feet and both the Atom and Hourman grabbed the opponent and threw him through the mouth of the cave roughly. The other members of Vandal Savage's security detail were sprawled on the floor of the cave, rendered senseless by the terrible force of Starman's weapon.
The Atom and Hourman waited for Starman and Wonder Woman to join them on the ledge before they advanced inside the cave to investigate the tunnel within. The control room was deserted except for the unconscious Sergeant Kurtz, who lay on the floor by the radar screen.
"You think we got them all?" Starman inquired softly.
"I don't know," the Atom replied. "If I built a setup like this I'd include a back door."
"Where is Hawkman?" Wonder Woman asked.
"Probably on the other side of the mountain," Hourman guessed. "Looking for the back door."
^J^ ^S^ ^A^
Vandal Savage and Lieutenant Kraven, the next highest officer of the security force, had escaped through the emergency tunnel while the rest of the security men fought the JSA. When the mechanical Kali had been destroyed, Savage realized the battle was lost.
When they emerged from the opposite side of the mountain, Savage tossed a hand grenade into the tunnel. The explosion dumped enough rock into the passage to at least slow down any pursuit by the American heroes.
"What do we do now, sir?" Kraven inquired.
"Raise your hands and surrender," Hawkman instructed as he stepped from behind a boulder.
Savage did what the crimefighter ordered. Kraven turned his back to Hawkman. The young security man quickly yanked a pistol from shoulder leather and whirled hoping to catch the Justice Society chairman off guard.
Hawkman was already in the air before the lieutenant had turned around and nailed Kraven in the chin with a fist before he could fire another shot. Savage swiftly planted a boot in his bodyguard's backside before the unconscious man could fall. He kicked Kraven's body toward Hawkman and leaped at the hero who had landed.
Hawkman shifted his body to avoid the grasp of Vandal Savage. The criminal mastermind managed to get a hold of the Winged Wonder and yanked hard and snapped his head forward, butting Hawkman in the forehead.
The crimefighter's skull rang from the stunning blow. Savage grabbed Hawkman's fingers and tried to bend them back. Hawkman thrust a fast side kick to the criminal's kneecap. The joint cracked and Savage bellowed with pain.
The JSA chairman lashed out with a punch to Savage's left forearm. Then Hawkman chopped his hand across the archvillain's right wrist. The crime boss suddenly rammed a powerful shoulder to Hawkman's chest and whipped a backfist across the hero's jawbone.
Hawkman staggered back three steps. Vandal Savage ground his teeth together as he painfully stood on the leg with a dislocated knee in order to launch a boot for Hawkman's groin. The Winged Wonder blocked the kick with his left thigh, but the villain's foot slammed into the knife wound in Hawkman's upper leg. The crimefighter groaned as fresh blood oozed from the bandaged limb.
Vandal Savage dived forward, both hands aimed for Hawkman's throat. The JSA hero caught his opponent's arm, grabbing a sleeve with his left hand and digging his fingers into biceps muscle. Hawkman rose into the air. He jammed a knee in the criminal's midsection and let go of Savage from twenty feet up.
The archvillain hit the ground hard. Although winded and battered, Savage tried to rise. Hawkman landed on the ground. The criminal reached for a rock or a fistful of dirt to throw in Hawkman's face. His fingers touched metal.
Savage smiled when he glanced down at Kraven's dropped pistol. He scooped it up and swung the gun toward the hero. His smile vanished when he saw Hawkman wasn't where he expected him to be.
As the master villain started to look up, Hawkman punched him between the eyes.
Vandal Savage was knocked unconscious by the hard blow. Hawkman picked up his longtime opponent and rose into the air to return to the other side of the mountain.
^J^ ^S^ ^A^
The battle was over. The Justice Society of America claimed a handful of prisoners but decided to let the Thuggees go. They were no longer Thuggees or believers in the goddess Kali. Hawkman wondered what it was like to actually see one's god destroyed before one's very eyes. What can one believe in after such an experience? Indeed, could one ever dare to believe in anything again?
"Vandal Savage had a hell of a radio set up inside that cave," Starman told Hawkman. "I managed to contact a CIA frequency Lawson told me about. They'll arrange a couple of helicopters to take the prisoners back to Calcutta where the Indian CID will take Vandal Savage's security force off our hands."
"Did you remember to mention medical supplies?" Wonder Woman asked. "Some of these people are hurt pretty bad."
"They're going to send a medical unit," Starman answered. "At least we'll have some help cleaning up this mess."
"Then this case is over at last," Hawkman said. "By the way, what happened to Shastri, the phony prophet who was working for Vandal Savage?"
"He's over there," Hourman answered, pointing to the base of the mountain. "The Thugs -- or should I say former Thugs -- yanked Shastri off the mountain and took out some of their frustrations on him. We couldn't stop them in time."
Hawkman gazed down at the battered figure of Shastri. The former leader of the Cult of Kali lay motionless on the ground. His wrists were bound together at the small of his back by a knotted silk scarf. Another yellow cord bound his ankles together. A third Thuggee garrote was tightly bound around his neck. Shastri's face was almost purple and his tongue hung from his open mouth. The dead man's eyes stared up at the blazing sun without blinking.
"A bit of ironic justice," the Atom remarked.
"Yes," Hawkman agreed wearily. "High priest Shastri is the last sacrifice of the Thuggees."
-- Finis --
Next Bruce Wayne story: Batman takes on the Bookworm in "Manuscripts Of Death." Please look for it in the Batman section of FFN.